Poetry
Ways of the World
A Tanka Chain
She once asked of me,
Are the Surfs the devil’s work?
Where did you hear that?
At school - I don’t understand.
People find what they look for.
She once said to me,
See the snail on the window-
It is magical-
A yellow, brown, and gray house.
People see what they look for.
Once she halted me,
Do you hear the bird singing?
It’s talking to us-
It’s saying pretty, pretty.
People hear what they look for.
I wanted to write a poem showing the conflicting views of the world that all of us see every day and to convey the idea that our perception is our reality. Yet it is important to me to channel the wonders of our world. When I saw Jonny Masters’s prompt and the idea of using multiple tankas to create a cohesive idea, I decided to give it a try.
I especially like the three tanka selections below by Eaflevin, Gemeyes, and Jennifer Morrison.
For many kinds of wonderful poetry, consider spending a bit of time at
